European betting site titans Betfair and PaddyPower announced their merger this morning.
The companies announced that Irish PaddyPower would hold 52% of shares, while London-based Betfair would stake 48%. This is a massive merger worth over $5 billion dollars, bringing the new groups combined total to nearly $8 billion. Both companies individual shares jolted 20% following the announcement.
The new group plans to expand deeper into Europe, as well as tackling the Australian market which has always been a challenge due to unusual gambling restrictions. This merger also gives them a great opportunity to rival the current leader Bet365.
This announcement came after Ladbrokes and Coral declared their merger earlier this month. Although much smaller than today’s news, the recent mergers may be foreshadowing for more to come. With high taxes, it could be beneficial for these companies to operate as one. Both parties have not made it clear if there are going to be any changes to either website.
European gambling sites are among the most profitable in the industry given how nearly their entire client base are obsessed with parlaying everything together. Keep getting those accas in, lads!